Page 23 of A Scandal at Stonecliffe

“Why, yes, that would be nice,” Nathan told him.

Verity glanced at Nathan as they followed the man through the room. Though his air remained nonchalant, she could see the same light in his eyes that she knew burned in hers—the same eagerness for the hunt.

Robert Douglas turned out to be a large, jovial man, his hair mostly gray, but with blond strands mingled in. His eyes were light-colored. Verity’s hopes rose at the similarity of coloring to their quarry, but they were immediately dashed when the older man greeted them in a voice utterly devoid of any trace of Scotland.

Grant’s friend introduced them, then said, “My friend Nathan was asking about a fellow named Douglas. I told him you were the man to see.”

Douglas chuckled. “Well, there are a number of us around, but I’ll be happy to help if I can.”

“I’m trying to find a man named Malcolm Douglas.”

Nathan started to describe him, but Douglas burst into a grin, exclaiming, “Malcolm! You know my nephew?”

“I believe I may,” Nathan replied, his voice admirably calm and casual. “I met him the other day.”

“He’s in London?” Robert said in surprise. Then he chuckled. “That young rascal. I invited him for a visit, you know. He said he would come, but then he never did. Ah, well, young men...no doubt he didn’t want a stodgy old uncle hanging about.”

Or he didn’t want his uncle to know he was working a blackmailing scheme.

“Perhaps it was not the same man,” Nathan hedged. “He sounded much more Scottish than you.”

“Ha! That’s Malcolm for you. I imagine he does his best not to sound like an Englishman. It’s a point of honor for the Douglases—I am something of an outcast in my family, you see. They’re all living in the past, don’t you know—dead set against the British.”

“Not so set against British money,” Verity whispered out of the corner of her mouth and was rewarded with a smile that Nathan tried to hide from Robert.

“I am sorry I can’t be of more help,” Robert went on. “If you do find the boy, I hope you will let me know—don’t worry, I don’t plan to check up on him. He gets enough of that from his mother. But I would love to see him again. He could visit me at my club—I can always be found at White’s.” He chuckled, then hastily added, “Of course, you are quite welcome by yourself, as well.”

“That’s very kind of you, sir. If I see him again, I will let him know.”

They stayed for a few minutes longer, then bade Douglas a polite good-bye.

“I think we’ve accomplished all we can here,” Nathan said as they walked away.

“Yes, it sounds unlikely that anyone else here would know Malcolm if he and his family are that reclusive.”

One of Verity’s more persistent suitors intercepted them. “Mrs. Billingham, would you honor me with a dance?”

“Mrs. Billingham and I were just leaving,” Nathan told him, giving him a hard stare.

The other man took a step back, looking at Nathan with surprise. “Yes, of course. Your servant, ma’am. Dunbridge.” He walked off.

“Well, that was a bit peremptory, wasn’t it?” Verity said mildly but made no effort to resist as they headed toward the front door. Frankly, she found Nathan’s unaccustomed rudeness rather appealing.

Nathan merely gave a noncommittal grunt, but as they left the house and started toward Verity’s home, he said, “None of them are worth your time. They’re all penniless youngsters. Viscount Sperle has a title, but his lands are in terrible shape—he’s not done a thing to improve them. Westerbridge is a wastrel.”

Verity let out a little laugh. “Nathan, you do realize that I am not actually in the market for a husband.”

He assumed a haughty look. “I was merely supporting your story.”

“Well, you may want to stop. You’ll have everyone thinking you’re jealous. There will be gossip all over London tomorrow.”

“Isn’t that what we want?” Nathan gave her a reckless grin. It was a look that suited him. Had he changed or had she never had an accurate view of Nathan?

“You wouldn’t want to carry it too far,” Verity told him.

“How far is too far?” He quirked an eyebrow at her.

A little ball of heat gathered in her abdomen. Nathan was flirting with her without anyone there to witness it. Had that even occurred to him? And am I actually blushing? She turned her head away, and they walked on in silence for a moment.